The What: Lifesize has announced enhancements to its interoperable and cloud-connected Lifesize Dash meeting room kit software solution. These enhancements include a new free licensing model that allows organizations to immediately save up to $1,000 per room per year as compared to alternatives, according to the company, as well as an updated tablet-based Lifesize Room Controller application for Dash and expanded Dash compatibility with PC-based meeting room kit solutions.
The What Else: As of November 4, customers can implement Lifesize Dash on Chromebox or Windows PC-based meeting room kit devices—with support for Mac room kits coming in 2020—preserving their hardware investments while delivering a superior video conferencing experience through Lifesize. Each free Dash license enables organizations to register one meeting room to the Lifesize cloud service, supporting scheduled or instantaneous group video calls with up to 25 participants. Lifesize Dash customers also benefit from native interoperability and support for incoming calls from external SIP/H.323 meeting room endpoints for no additional charge.
Additionally, Lifesize introduced a new Room Controller app that can be used together with Dash and an Android or Apple room kit tablet to enhance the meeting experience by enabling camera controls, at-a-glance integrated calendar views, one-touch join for active meetings, and intuitive access to essential collaboration features. Meeting hosts and participants can leave their laptops at their desks, relying on the Room Controller app and Dash to facilitate their meetings.
"Videoconferencing is a critical component of organizations’ long-term communication strategy; however, the cost and complexity of getting started remain significant barriers to adoption,” said Michael Helmbrecht, chief operating officer for Lifesize. “Lifesize Dash represents the highest quality, most scalable path to capitalize on meeting rooms and the existing hardware kits within them, unlocking the potential for organization-wide video collaboration. By making Dash available to customers at no cost, we aim to help them mitigate their frustrations with competitive solutions, reduce per-room licensing and interoperability fees, and achieve higher ROI from video initiatives.”
“With these Dash enhancements, Lifesize has addressed several longstanding barriers to adoption: cost, compatibility, and ease of use,” said Ira M. Weinstein, managing partner at analyst firm Recon Research. “The free meeting room software license is especially interesting. Many providers offer freemium models for personal conferencing, but freemium for meeting room videoconferencing takes things to the next level. Lifesize continues to challenge the status quo, and its users (including the folks at Recon Research) reap the benefit.”
The Bottom Line: Replacing existing meeting room kit software with Lifesize Dash and the Lifesize Room Controller app drives multiple benefits for end users and IT teams, including enhanced quality and centralized software management, interoperability to call any other video communication service, and reliability through Lifesize’s cloud-based global service.
